An unevenly paced but poignant coming-of-age story.
A young woman must find her place in the world in Vega’s debut new-adult novel.
Coralee Reed, who’s 18, is aging out of the foster-care system and leaving her Midwestern home of seven months. She’s a violinist, headed for nearby Borns College as a music major. When she arrives, there’s a mix-up that leaves her without a room assignment. She ends up rooming with Emma Anderson, and they become fast friends. One of Coralee’s new classmates is Dylan Mason, an old rival from regional orchestra. She’s starting to feel that she belongs at the school until Emma’s absent roommate, Harper, shows up and complicates matters. Coralee has a little crush on Dylan, whom she believes is gay; her affection is deepened when she finds out that he once stood up for her in high school against kids who said cruel things about her. Dylan confesses that he likes Coralee, too, but that he’s wary of a pursuing a romance for “complicated” reasons. As things get worse with Harper, Coralee reaches out to her foster family for help and starts to think about not cutting off all ties with them when she turns 21. Things eventually come to a head in a way that jeopardizes Coralee’s future at the university. Coralee’s history in the foster system makes her struggles to find a safe place on campus all the more realistic, and a major theme of Vega’s novel is the protagonist’s quest to figure out where she belongs—with her foster family, with Emma or Dylan, or with any of her roommates. The author does a fine job of capturing just what it’s like to be a college freshman—constantly meeting new people, living in complex dorm situations, and running around campus to get to classes. Music theory references are well integrated and help to show Coralee’s passion for the violin. Overall, not a lot happens in the story until the latter half of the book, but although the beginning is a bit slow, the ending is solid and satisfying.
An unevenly paced but poignant coming-of-age story.Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73705-951-6
Page Count: 274
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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